The United States has vetoed a UN Security Council request for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, Reuters reports.
The deputy US envoy to the UN says that the draft UN resolution is detached from reality and 'would not move the "needle forward" on the ground in any concrete way'.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rejected a plan by which Hamas could be a partner in the governance of Gaza after the war, reports the BBC.
Referring to an earlier report by Bloomberg - that the Palestinian Authority is working with US officials on a plan to manage Gaza after the end of the conflict that has lasted since November 7, the BBC points out that The Times of Israel reported Benjamin Netanyahu's message that "there will be no Hamas" and that to "eliminate" Israel.
Bloomberg reported that the Palestinian Authority is working with US officials to manage Gaza after the war.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohamed Stajeh assessed that the desirable outcome would be for the militant group Hamas, which controls Gaza, to become a junior partner of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
Stajeh said the coalition will aim to build a new independent state, which includes the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.
"If they (Hamas) are ready to agree and accept the political platform of the PLO, then there will be room for discussion. Palestinians should not be divided," Stajeh said.
Commenting on the idea, Netanyahu dismissed the Palestinian Authority as a solution.
"The fact that it is a proposal of the Palestinian Authority only strengthens my policy - the Palestinian Authority is not the solution," said the Israeli Prime Minister.
The World Food Program (WFP) said it was becoming impossible to feed hungry people in the Gaza Strip as Israel stepped up its attacks on targets there in its war with Hamas, reports Reuters.
"Given the breakdown of law and order, any significant humanitarian operation is impossible," VFP Deputy Executive Director Karl Skau said in a statement after visiting the Palestinian enclave on Friday.
"With only a fraction of the food supplies needed, fatal fuel shortages, disruptions in communication systems and no safety for our staff or for the people we serve in food distribution, we cannot do our jobs," he added.
The United Nations agency showed during last Sunday's cease-fire that it was capable of carrying out if conditions allowed, and Skau, who is Swedish, called for a "humanitarian ceasefire".
"We have food on trucks, but we need more than one crossing. And once the trucks are in, we need free and safe passage to reach the Palestinians wherever they are," he added.
Israeli military spokesman Daniel Hagari said this evening that two soldiers were seriously wounded during a failed operation aimed at freeing hostages from the Gaza Strip.
He said that the soldiers killed "terrorists who participated in the kidnapping and hostage-taking", but that the operation was unsuccessful and that no hostages were freed, Israeli media reported.
Hagari announced that the army will continue to act in several ways, operationally and in cooperation with the Israeli security service Shin Bet to return all the hostages home and to obtain information on them.
About 7 people were abducted in Hamas attacks on the south of Israel on October 240, and during the recent ceasefire, Hamas released 105 detainees, including 81 Israelis, 23 Thais and one Filipina.
The Palestinian Islamic organization Hamas today called on the UN Security Council to end the "brutal war" in the Gaza Strip, where more than 17.400 Palestinians have been killed in the two-month war with Israel.
"We call on the Security Council, the international community and all the countries of the world to end this brutal war and save the Gaza Strip before it's too late," Hamas said in a statement, Agence France-Presse reported.
Meanwhile, the US reiterated its opposition to a cease-fire in Gaza, saying it would leave Hamas in control of the territory while still holding more than 100 Israeli hostages.
Deputy US Ambassador Robert Wood's statement to the UN Security Council emergency meeting is a signal that the US will use its veto power to prevent the adoption of a draft resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
The resolution is supported by Arab and Islamic countries and the UN Secretary General and many other countries, according to AP.
The UN Security Council will vote later today on a resolution sponsored by the United Arab Emirates, the representative of Arab countries in the council.
Wood said the US did not believe an immediate ceasefire would lead to a sustainable peace in which Israelis and Palestinians would live in peace and security because Hamas would remain in power.
Stopping military action would only "plant the seeds for the next war," he said, because Hamas has no desire "to see a sustainable peace to see a two-state solution."
He also assessed that the failure of the UN Security Council to condemn the cross-border attack in the south of Israel was a serious moral failure.
Israel's UN ambassador Gilad Erdan said Hamas should be told to stop shooting if it wants to end the fighting in Gaza and asked why the draft resolution was not aimed at Hamas leaders, accusing the organization of ending the previous ceasefire and renewing hostilities, Israeli media reported.
(BETA)
The Biden administration has asked Congress to approve the sale of 45.000 shells for Israeli Merkava tanks for use in an offensive against Hamas in Gaza, a US official and former US official said, according to Reuters.
The request comes as concerns grow over the use of US weapons in a conflict that has killed thousands of civilians.
At least 10 people were killed and many others wounded after Israeli forces bombed a family home in the southern Gaza Strip of Khan Yunis, Palestinian health officials told Reuters.
"Save the Children" and other international non-governmental organizations warned today of the "apocalyptic" situation in the Gaza Strip after 60 days of Israeli siege.
NGOs state that now those who survived the bombing are in imminent danger of dying of hunger or disease.
"Children and families are wandering the streets of what has not been leveled, without food, they have nowhere to go and nothing to survive," said Aleksandra Saieh from the "Save the Children" organization at a press briefing.
Israel imposed a complete siege on the Palestinian territory on October 9, two days after an attack by Palestinian extremists, led by Hamas, who massacred over 1.200 people, mostly civilians, and took about 240 hostages to Gaza.
The Israeli army then bombarded Gaza and launched ground operations on October 27.
At the end of November, a temporary truce came into force when 105 hostages were released, but the clashes continued after that.
According to the Hamas government, almost 17.500 people have died since the beginning of the war, 70 percent of whom are women and minors.
Shaina Low from the Norwegian Refugee Council said that there is no safe place in Gaza, that more than half of the apartments have been damaged or destroyed, and that 1,9 million inhabitants out of a total of 2,4 million have been displaced by the war, according to UN.
Hundreds of thousands of civilians fled the devastated north of the small enclave to take refuge in the south.
However, Israeli military operations are also intensifying there.
"Israel is forcing families to move from one dangerous area to another," Lowe said in the same video conference.
Her colleagues, like thousands of Gazans, "sleep on the streets" because there are no safe shelters.
In Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip, an employee of Doctors of the World was wounded when a tank attacked the school where he had taken refuge.
Lou added that hospitals in Gaza are becoming morgues and people are lying on the ground.
At Al-Aqsa Hospital, where Doctors Without Borders works, 150 to 200 wounded are brought in every day, but on Wednesday more dead than wounded were brought in.
Oxfam's Bashra Khalidi described the situation in Gaza as apocalyptic and condemned Israel's restrictions on humanitarian convoys arriving via the Rafah border crossing from Egypt.
The World Food Program warned at the end of November that the risk of starvation for the people of Gaza, especially children and women, is very high.
At the same time, the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, mentioned on the platform X (X) the diseases that affect the territory, due to "overpopulation, lack of water, sanitation and basic hygiene".
More than 100.000 inhabitants suffer from acute respiratory problems, 75.000 from diarrhea, others from scabies...
The Israeli military has asked international humanitarian organizations for their "support" to "help establish infrastructure" in Al-Mawasi, a coastal area in the southern Gaza Strip between Khan Yunis and Rafah, where Israel is urging civilians to withdraw.
The request is considered "unacceptable", said Danila Zizi, from Handicap International, who will not "respond to this request".
"There are no services, no schools, no health structures" in the area and "the humanitarian community is expected to build everything," she warned.
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The White House said today that Israel can do more to reduce civilian casualties, and the United States shares international concerns about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, reports Reuters.
"We all certainly recognize that more can be done to try to reduce civilian casualties," White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.
Israeli television broadcast videos Wednesday showing dozens of Palestinians stripped to their underwear under the watch of Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip, sparking a heated debate on social media. The Israeli army claims that they are members of Hamas, and Hamas claims that they are civilians, reports N1.
Among the captured men, eyewitnesses, journalists and relatives recognized the journalist Di Al-Kahlut, correspondent of the "New Arab" portal from Gaza.
The media's English-language edition stated that their journalist was among dozens of Gazans captured by the Israeli army and forced to strip.
The United States of America announced that it opposes the ceasefire and does not support further action by the Security Council when it comes to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, reports Reuters.
The US and Israel oppose the ceasefire because they believe it will only benefit Hamas. Washington supports pauses in the fighting to protect civilians and allow the release of hostages kidnapped by Hamas on October 7.
"While the US strongly supports a long-term peace, in which both Israelis and Palestinians would live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire," said Robert Wood, US deputy ambassador to the UN, at the Security Council.
He added that it would only be the seeds for the next war, since, as he stated, Hamas has no desire for a long-term peace.
The foreign ministers of several Arab countries and Turkey called today in Washington for an immediate end to the war in the Gaza Strip and appealed to the US to support the UN resolution on a humanitarian ceasefire.
"Our message is that we believe it is absolutely necessary to end the fighting immediately," Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan said on behalf of the group, calling on the UN Security Council to adopt a resolution on a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
He expressed regret that the end of the conflict does not seem to be "the priority of the international community".
Egypt's foreign minister, Sameh Shukri, said the solution was a ceasefire, and his Jordanian counterpart, Ayman Safadi, expressed his belief that "the number one priority is to stop the aggression."
He warned that Israel will have a free hand to "continue the massacre" if the UN does not adopt the resolution.
The delegation, which includes ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the Palestinian Authority, will be received by US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken later today.
The Saudi minister expressed the hope that American partners will do more and the belief that they can do more to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
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Islamic extremist Hamas today called on UNESCO to save the treasures of the Gaza Strip, where many historical buildings have already been leveled or damaged in the war with Israel.
Videos and photos posted on social media today show the remains of the Al-Omari Mosque, Gaza City's largest and oldest, with only the minaret apparently intact.
The remaining part of that holy place from the 12th century, the former church, is cracked by the collapsed walls of white stone.
In a statement, the Ministry of Antiquities condemned the destruction of historical and archaeological sites in the intensive bombing of the Israeli army in order to destroy Hamas, which is ruling in Gaza, after the attack on the south of Israel on October 7. Over 1.200 people, most of them civilians, were killed in these unprecedented attacks.
In the Israeli bombing and the subsequent ground offensive, almost 17.500 people, mostly women and children, died in Gaza and large parts of that small Palestinian enclave were turned into ruins.
The Ministry believes that the world and UNESCO would have to do something to preserve the great civilizational and cultural heritage. As stated, 104 mosques have been demolished since the beginning of the war.
In Israeli airstrikes on the night between Thursday and Friday, the Al-Omari and Othman bin Kaskar mosques, which are also in Gaza City, were demolished.
The ministry stated that the hammam, the Turkish bath of al-Samara, where residents have been taking water for more than a thousand years, was also destroyed.
In addition, three churches were destroyed, including the thousand-year-old Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Porphyry, the oldest still open in the territory, located in the heart of the historic Old Gaza district, which was attacked on October 18.
Gaza's architectural heritage has already suffered major damage in earlier wars between Israel and Hamas, which has ruled the territory since 2007.
(BETA)
The fighting in Gaza must stop immediately, but it seems that this is not a priority of the international community, the Saudi Arabian foreign minister said today in Washington, adding that there must also be a credible road map for the establishment of a Palestinian state, reports Reuters.
Two senior officials of the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Hamas have been added to the European Union's blacklist, which imposes sanctions against individuals and organizations involved in terrorist acts, the EU Council announced today.
As stated, the sanctions consist, among other things, in the freezing of all assets they have in the EU.
As of today, Muhammed Deif, the commander-in-chief of the military wing of Hamas, al-Qassam Brigades, and his deputy, Marwan Isa, are on the list.
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US President Joseph Biden's administration has told Israel's leaders that they should end the war in the Gaza Strip against Hamas by the end of this year, the Politico newspaper reported, citing three unnamed officials in Tel Aviv.
A newspaper report says that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken warned Israel last Sunday that it has weeks, not months, to end the fighting. Yesterday's statement by the US Deputy National Security Adviser Jon Finer (Jon Finer) that Washington did not give a "firm deadline" to Jerusalem was also reported.
An unnamed senior Israeli official appeared to play down the prospect of setting a deadline.
"They advised us not to go to Gaza, but we did. We went to Gaza because that's the only way to destroy Hamas and free the hostages. They told us, 'Don't go into the terrorist tunnels.' But if we don't go into the terrorist tunnels there is no way to destroy Hamas. They told us, 'Don't go to the hospitals' even though Hamas uses them as command and control centers, but we went to the hospitals and did what was necessary," the unnamed official said.
He added that everything necessary will be done to achieve a "decisive victory".
In addition to "destroying" Hamas and freeing the hostages, Israeli leaders have announced that the goal of the war is to ensure that Gaza is never again a threat to Israel.
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said today that the brutality of Hamas can never justify the "collective punishment of Palestinians" as Israel continues its campaign against the Palestinian extremist organization in the Gaza Strip.
"Around 130 hostages are still in captivity. I call for their immediate and unconditional release, as well as their humane treatment and visits by the International Committee of the Red Cross until they are freed," Guterres said at an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
"At the same time, the brutality committed by Hamas can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people," the UN chief added, Agence France-Presse reported.
In the attacks of Palestinian extremists led by Hamas on October 7, more than 1.200 people were killed in the south of Israel, most of them civilians, and about 240 hostages were taken to Gaza.
About 17.500 Palestinians died in the Israeli bombing and later ground operations, 70 percent of them women and minors.
(BETA)
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu criticized the Palestinian Authority today after Palestinian Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayeh, in a statement to Bloomberg, expressed hope that Hamas will be a partner in managing Gaza after the war between Israel and the extremist organization.
"There will be no Hamas, we will eliminate it. The fact that it is a proposal of the Palestinian Authority only strengthens my policy: the Palestinian Authority is not the solution," Netanyahu said, Israeli media reported.
The American news agency Bloomberg announced today that Ramallah is cooperating with the administration of US President Joseph Biden on the plan for the management of the Gaza Strip after the end of the war, even though Prime Minister Stajeh expressed the hope that Hamas will be a partner in that process.
Citing a senior Palestinian official, Bloomberg reported that US officials recently met with the Palestinian prime minister to discuss a plan for post-war Gaza.
"We will not go there according to the Israeli military plan. Our people are there. We need to put together a mechanism, something we are working on with the international community," said the Palestinian prime minister.
Netanyahu has repeatedly rejected the idea of the Palestinian Authority running Gazan after the war, accusing it of supporting terrorism through education, paying terrorists and not condemning the October 7 attacks by Hamas on southern Israel that started the war.
The Palestinian Authority has controlled parts of the other Palestinian territory of the occupied West Bank since Hamas seized control of Gaza by force in 2007, defeating forces loyal to the rival, more moderate Fatah of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Israel has pledged to eliminate Hamas after attacks in which more than 1.200 people were killed in southern Israel and about 240 hostages were taken to Gaza.
Stajeh said that Israel cannot eliminate Hamas.
"Hamas is not only in Gaza. Hamas is in Lebanon, everyone knows that the leadership of Hamas is in Qatar and they are here in the West Bank," said the Palestinian Prime Minister.
However, he made a distinction between Hamas before and after October 7 and said that if that organization is ready to reach an agreement and accept the political platform of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) there will be room for discussion and concluded that the Palestinians should not be divided. However, Hamas is not a member of the PLO.
(BETA)
Members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in Gaza City destroyed the buildings of Al-Azhar University, which were the infrastructure of the Palestinian movement Hamas, the Times of Israel reported today.
Soldiers found an entrance to a tunnel in the university campus that leads to a school about a kilometer away. Israeli forces found bombs, rocket parts, launchers and other equipment in the area.
"The terrorist organization Hamas used the university building to fight against our forces," the IDF said.
Members of the 14th Armored Brigade searched the Hamas observation post in the Shati area, where they found weapons, 200 walkie-talkies, and dozens of cameras.
(BETA)
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced today that during the past day, they have carried out strikes on more than 450 targets in the Gaza Strip and that ground operations are continuing.
The locations that were targeted were military bases, observation posts and weapons depots, reports The Times of Israel.
Members of the 7th Armored Brigade directed several Israeli Air Force drones at Hamas operatives in the Khan Yunis area, according to the statement.
The attacks lasted about two hours, and "numerous" Hamas operatives were killed.
In a separate operation, three Hamas operatives were targeted by an Israeli drone. Two were killed, while the third revealed the hideout from which rocket attacks on Israel were planned.
The Israeli Navy carried out strikes in Gaza over the past day, using guided munitions and shells.
The IDF says the navy hit the sites of Hamas naval forces in central and southern Gaza.
(BETA)
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